Want An Easier Way to Write A Blog? Use These 5 Steps

I had lunch with a friend today, David Wright, who told me that his current burning desire was to find an easier way to write his blog.  Of course that was right down my alley and very lively discussion followed.  By the end of lunch we had a list of 5 ideas that would make his life a little easier.  So I am sharing our conversation with you in hopes that you may find a useful tip or two.

Part of my job as a coach is to discover the roadblocks for my customers.  In our discussion, I found that David was having difficulty meeting his goal of 400 words in his articles.  And even more crucial, he was not comfortable with the appearance of the narrative in his posts.  David is a photographer.  So it’s natural that  composition is important to him.  Being unhappy with the structure of his blog was a critical stumbling block.  It took us about ten minutes to determine his barriers.  We spent the rest of our lunch working on a formula for him to follow.  Here it is.

• The Point – Ensures that David’s blog post supports his call to action.
• The Plan – Beyond a general or overall plan, a specific plan for his blog is a must
• The List – Makes his blog post easy to scan and improves readability
• The Links – Direct readers to key points and related material
• The Look – Invites the readers to stay and enjoy David’s work

The Point:  Every post should have a point which results in a call to action for the reader.  The adage, “begin with the end in mind” works perfectly in this case.  What action do you want your reader to take?  Now begin jotting down your thoughts and lining up resources that help to demonstrate your point and lead your reader to action.

The Plan:  In our May 15^th post, “Writing a Great Blog – The Process”, I noted a blog plan that is generic.  It’s brief, uncomplicated and should work for just about anyone.   However, if you want an easier way  to write a blog post, you need to plan for that as well.  David and I had a great time talking about the planning that he will begin using for his posts.

A very sought after wedding photographer, David has photographed destination weddings all over the world.  Blogging about these wonderful experiences can attract a loyal group of followers.  We added just a few questions to his interview checklist and with that information, he will be writing the most fascinating blogs entries.  In the future, David will ask each couple for the story of their engagement, how theClick on this cake there are more to see!y chose their rings, their wedding location, their cake and other experiences that stand out for them.

The List:  Now instead of a long narrative, David will list the highlights of the wedding with bullet point titles like “The Rings”; “The Cake” and “The Kiss”.  Bullet points make scanning the blog easy.  Adding a brief description to each bullet point helps the reader to choose which point they want to follow first.

The Links:  Making each bullet point a link within the blog is a great way to draw readers further into his blog.  Honestly, who isn’t going to click on The Kiss?  And links improve SEO as well.  Using images as links can create a wonderful story line throughout his blog.  They can also  promote affiliate relationships that may bring future business.  For example, David could highlight a particular cake designer by adding a caption to the cake image and then linking to several images of that designer’s cakes.  It may even help to monetize his blog.

The Look: David will let his photography lead the reader through his blog so that they naturally arrive at his call to action.  His pictures are “The Point” of his blog post.  Using great captions and fun stories with each photograph will create and experience and put the reader in the mind to act.

And that brings me to the topic of our next blog which will be how to write a great call to action.

If you would like your own formula for an easier way to write a blog, just click HELP and we’ll schedule a time to talk.

ALSO watch for our next EasyBlog Class.  We’ll keep you posted.